Pembrokeshire County Council spent £125,000 in the last five years clearing up dumped cars, Preseli Pembrokeshire AM Paul Davies can reveal.

Figures obtained by the Welsh Conservatives show that councils across Wales have spent an estimated £1.2mn disposing of abandoned vehicles since 2004. But while some councils have the abandoned cars picked up for free by contractors, other authorities like Pembrokeshire have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds getting rid of them.

"The really annoying thing in all of this is that there is no need for people to abandon their cars if they no longer want them, said Mr Davies.

"Any scrap car can be picked up for free and scrapped at no charge. But either people don't realise this or they simply can't be bothered."

Between 2005 – 2006 Pembrokeshire County Council spent nearly £50,000 disposing abandoned vehicles, but last year that figure dropped to £1,720.

"When people dump cars they are forcing the cost onto the council," added Mr Davies.

"I'm sure people would rather this money was spent on schools and other public services, not cleaning up other people's mess."